since World War II, tanks gradually become a major national army combat equipment. On the battlefield, a tank equipped infantry division can be easily defeated a number of pure Infantry Division, in a number of battle tanks is absolutely decisive weapon. For example during the Soviet-German war, precisely because the Soviet Union to fight to win the battle of Kursk tank, pressing harder and harder Nazi Germany was successful in a short time invaded Germany. After all that time in addition to a small number of tanks and anti-tank artillery, army there any way to deal with opponents of armored vehicles. Up to now, with the continuous development of modern technology, ordinary soldiers after receiving anti-tank missiles, they can easily destroy the opponent’s main battle tank.

During the fourth Middle East war, the Egyptian military is relying on anti-tank rockets defeated several Israeli armored brigades. After the fourth Middle East war, including the United States, the Soviet Union, including the countries of armored units are designed to be more emphasis on tank armor thickness, many now claiming its product design units armor thickness over one thousand millimeters. So there really is a positive steel tank is a one meter thickness of it? Three elements of the tank armor, mobility, firepower, if it takes too much thought in terms of armor, which means that the tank may be behind in terms of mobility. Modern main battle tank faster than the family car lot, naturally can not do too much armor plate with a rolled steel.

In fact, the term refers to the thickness of the armor equivalent thickness, is not a physical thickness. During World War II many countries front vertical tank armor, armor in this case is how thick the physical thickness, while there are more than a thickness equivalent thickness. Equivalent means which, when the thickness of a particular angle of incidence and the particular ammunition shot, equivalent to more than a thickness of the vertical plate. When T-34 design, the designer fully take into account the problem of equivalent thickness, inclined to the front armor plate armor, which makes the equivalent thickness tank T-34 far exceeds the actual physical thickness. States will be launched and then mixed armor plates, increasing the thickness of an additional equivalent of certain ceramic materials, and other metals in armor plates. Modern main battle tank is generally about 60 tons to 70 tons, the physical thickness of the frontal armor if it reaches 10,000 mm, and that this is a piece of steel traveling on the road, hardly a main battle tank, nature does not make much sense.

In 1963, T-64 battle tank with a more complex three layer composite armor puffs. Wherein the first layer is 80 mm ordinary steel armor, the second layer is 104Mm glass fiber armored, a third layer of armor steel is 20 mm, the actual thickness of approximately 200 mm, or most of the composite material, but when dealing with shaped charge, the composite armor is equivalent to 600 mm of steel armor, even is a fin-stabilized penetrator has protective properties 300 mm steel armor, composite armor so that T-64 to obtain a better performance over a limited protective armor tonnage

in addition, also in countries tank an outer layer covering the reactive armor steel armor explosion, such as the French company GIAT blasting reactive armor thickness of 75 mm, but can be the equivalent of 200 mm. Blasting principle is even more simple reactive armor, artillery shells hit the opponent when the armor, reactive armor blast will first explosion, the explosion had little effect on the tank itself, but can reduce the speed of the opponent shells, and change its flight path, equivalent in order to armor plate. Basically MBT countries around the world have posted dozens of pieces of blasting reactive armor in the armor suit of armor plate at the whole state.

In other words, countries promote their own main battle tank armor equivalent thickness of 1000 mm is actually no problem, but if the actual armor thickness of 1,000 mm, it is a bit shocking. You know, positive mouse armored tanks actual thickness of only about 220 mm, in order to achieve the level of protection this level, mouse tanks tonnage of 188 tons, the equivalent of many small warship, which is unscientific, its considerable weight the number of vehicles in the modern main battle tanks. Even very difficult through the normal road bridge.